A Farewell to My Beloved

The year the flowers bloomed, red beans were secretly tossed.

Legend has it that there is a flower called Twin Blossoms: two blooms on one stem, sharing a single stalk.

They loved each other on the same branch, yet fought over one another, their struggle never ending.

"Sister, if we had never met him, perhaps you would have been a good sister to me for the rest of my life." She was a riot of color.

"Little sister, I never knew the truth. He deceived me." She burned like a raging flame.

Love is a poison that sinks its fangs deep. It is all a lie, and this whole journey through life is a lie.

The two sisters fought fiercely. She thought she had reached the end of her life, but never expected to meet him after being gravely wounded.

"Once you are my student, I will protect you from all harm for the rest of my life."

From then on, she became his weakness, his fatal flaw.

But so many things never go as we wish. Once, she bowed low in gratitude for her teacher's kindness.

Now, it was a farewell bow.

Life is thus. In the end, is it love or hatred? And who can truly say?

The fish sink from sight, the geese vanish beyond the horizon. Only then do we know the pain of parting in this world.

[The final song in The Three Songs of the Beloved]